Thursday, August 25, 2016

Before Ben Hogan became a legend, he had to

break a nine-year winless streak as a pro

Ben
Hogan is famously attributed with saying the secret to golf was "in the
dirt." Ken Venturi also quoted Hogan as saying, "every day you miss
practising will take you one day longer to be good," which seems a
mathematical improbability, but the point is Hogan was arguably the
hardest-working player in golf history.

Despite this, success took its
sweet time, nine years to be exact after he turned pro in 1931.

The milestone moment took place 76 years ago at the 1940
North and South Open at Pinehurst No. 2, the golf mecca for many
memorable events. The dates were March 19-21, which were a Tuesday
through Thursday in 1940.

(Tournaments starting on a Thursday and finishing on a Sunday did not come into fashion until comparatively recently).

Hogan had won a team event with Vic Ghezzi at
the 1938 Hershey Four-Ball, but when he arrived at Pinehurst a few
months shy of turning 28, he had not experienced individual glory on
tour.

Pinehurst was an ideal spot for Hogan to break through. In Lee Pace's book Pinehurst Stories,
Hogan is quoted as saying, "I always loved to play Pinehurst. I thought
it was a great place. . . . The whole golf course was a most pleasant
and testing golf course. It's a real test of golf."

The 11th hole on the
No. 2 course was said to be his favourite par 4.

Ben Hogan bunkered at Pinehurst

Due in large part to the Pinehurst prestige, a win in the North and
South was held in high esteem, nearly of major status. The atmosphere
was vibrant, with outdoor festivals part of the ambience on the hotel
lawns.

Hogan's 66-67 start opened a seven-shot lead over Snead and Revolta at
the halfway mark. But on a chilly 36-hole final day, Hogan also cooled
off. Paired with Revolta and Heafner, Hogan turned tentative in Round 3,
posting a 74 and his lead was reduced to six. Sarazen voiced doubt that
Hogan's lead would hold up. Snead finished with a final-round 67 to put
pressure on Hogan, but the impending champion made pars on the last two
holes for a 70, and his 277 total won by three.

For the first time, the
results had the great contemporary trio of Hogan, Snead and Nelson, all
born in 1912, finish 1-2-3.

Hogan was such an unexpected winner that Pace reports the Greensboro
Daily News had him as Hagen (mistaking him for Walter) in the headline
before correcting the mistake.

In the Hogan camp, the $1,000 first-place cheque, a lot of money in those far off days, was a welcome relief,
but so was the broken ice. Wife Valerie said, "Don't pinch me. I'm
afraid I'll wake up. Ben has been so close so many times, only to see
one fatal shot crumble all his hopes. He's never given up trying,
though, even in his darkest hours. That's why I'm so proud of him."

After being given the trophy and his earnings, and shaking hands with
architect Donald Ross (see below), Hogan had a glass of milk and told
the writers, "I won one just in time. I had finished second and third so
many times I was beginning to think I was an also-ran. I needed that
win."